Yes. We have been here all the time.
Like some kind of baseball bat under the bed that you hope you never need.
And now the MSSU Board of Governors has finally inhaled the fresh air that comes from not breathing with one’s head up one’s ass.
Alan Marble is our president. And we can now stand down.

The most recent staff editorial in The Joplin Globe is the most naked literary hummer in the history of fake journalism.

It is about the “larger than life” statue of a lion unveiled by MSSU recently. That cliche and others apparently “leaped to mind” for this lazy writer. But we digress. The problem isn’t with the prose but with the fact that the Globe is easy to praise and reluctant to poke.

We are in favor of and happy with the unveiling of the statue. It symbolizes a new beginning under Interim President Alan Marble. Marble has reached out to faculty and seems to realize the university’s international mission is a vital component to its future. It looks forward and not back. And that is all good.

But The Globe keeps giving Southern head.

Where did the money come from? The Student Senate spent a lot of money for this. And that is fine. It is a good symbol at a good time.

But what happened to the money then-Sen. Gary Nodler got for a storm shelter? Where is the university in fund raising for the already-named-but-matching funds-not raised Plaster sports complex?

With a new year underway, will true shared governance return?

We are happy so far. But questions remain. And we are still SouthernWatching.

We have been kind of quiet since the Board of Governors (they get their real name back) came to its senses and sent RTV to that great hat shop in the presidential sky.

That will continue until they — as we used to use as our tag line — start doing shit again. But we plan to do some analytical and speculative posts.

Right now, Dr. Alan is doing all the right things, half a day in.

He was pictured in The Globe greeting students who returned from an (gasp) international trip. And the university is talking about its mission and what it should mean to Southwest Missouri. Will it be an international mission? Maybe. But if it isn’t, it seems Dr. Alan is willing to have a DISCUSSION. A CONVERSATION. An INCLUSIVE, OPEN PROCESS.

Shit. We can’t even remember the last time that happened. Look at Chad Stebbins, here. It looks like the guy has gotten 10 years back, lost weight and got laid. All in a month.

When catching up on The Turner Report this week, we came upon this gem of a post about a blog by two Joplin High School students who have concerns about the direction the Joplin R-8 School District is headed.

They are telling administrators in their district that they are watching. And they are asking. And that they are stakeholders. The students write under their own names, which we applaud. And that isn’t a hypocritical position. Students can’t be fired.

And, apparently, they aren’t alone. This is from the blog’s “About” page:

This website is the voice of students, parents, and teachers who wish to bring the inner-workings of the Joplin School District to light.

Quite frankly, every school district, college, university, city council should have someone running a “Watch.” It is citizen journalism and populist activism at its best. Would the Joplin Globe ask these questions? Maybe the Joplin Globe doesn’t because it doesn’t even know what answers the public wants.

But can administrators punish these students for being critical of the district in an online medium and for content they produce off campus on their own time and with their own equipment?

If the district tries to discipline these brave young people, we hope they sue its ass off.

That went back to July 2011. Notice the enrollment headlines and the expansion of the Crowder footprint. This week Crowder’s board gave a green light to seeking bids for a new residence hall.

Also note the last two headlines. Apparently Marble is quite capable of boorish behavior at times. But he recognized his mistake and took his medicine.

Then Crowder make a Chronicle of Higher Education list as one of the best places to work in the US. And if that culture can be transplanted to Southern, that will be a great departure from the last five years and a good start.

So here is a quote for all of you that are calling us assholes for calling Bruce an asshole:

“Asshole? I’m not the one who just got butt-fucked on national TV, *Dwayne*. Now, you listen to me, jerk-off, if you’re not a part of the solution, you’re a part of the problem. Quit being a part of the fucking problem and put the other guy back on!”